A unique Northwest art form, once nearly lost, thrives today, says Vickie Jensen in “Totem Pole Carving ” Bringing a Log to Life” (University of Washington Press, 185 pages, soft cover, $22.95).

Jensen collaborates with renowned Northwest coast Nisga’a artist Norman Tait and his crew of young carvers to document the actual process of bringing a red cedar log to life.

This is a fascinating story — finding the log, removing the bark, transporting it, the intricacies of preparation for carving, the actual carving, what the shapes and forms mean, and finally, lifting the huge, 42-foot wooden sculpture into place. Months of work go into the project.

While one artistic vision dominates, the carving of a totem pole at least in this case is a community effort.

“No one knows who carved the first totem poles or when,” Jensen says. Explorers saw totem poles when their ships first contacted Haida and Tlinglit villages more than 200 years ago.

A few poles were acquired by museums, but mostly — they’re gone.

Tait in the last 30 years has carved poles, monolithic doors, canoes and welcome figures. His poles stand on three continents, says Jensen.

The book is filled not just with “how to” information, but tales and legends that help us understand the significance of these artistic creations.

Exotic flower

The mystery that once cloaked and protected the orchid has been dissolved by travel, science and horticulture, says the late Luigi Berliocchi in a new book, “The Orchid in Lore and Legend” (Timber Press, 200 pages, soft cover, $$19.95).

The book has been translated from Italian by editor Mark Griffiths. It’s an intriguing compilation of the history, botany, folklore and medicinal values of this exotic plant that continues to fascinate people thousands of years after its first mention in ancient texts.

Illustrations include 16 color photos and 167 black and white photos and engravings. Text and pictures combine to arouse awareness of the fragile station these plants occupy in today’s world. Old-time orchid hunters killed whole colonies to keep plants scarce – and prices high.

Berliocchi (1953-1999) was a lecturer in garden history at the University of Reggio Calabria. This extraordinary book is a tribute, a love letter, to a wonderful plant.

Portfolio

Wildlife photographers Tom and Pat Leeson capture Washington’s diverse creatures in every natural environment across the state in “Washington Wildlife Portfolio” (Farcountry Press, 120 pages, hard cover, $24.95).

This coffee-table book contains scores of color photos – killer whales, fox, Roosevelt elk, chipmunk, sea lions, raccoons, bald eagles, mountain goats, and more, and that’s in just the first few pages. The Leesons have recorded Washington wildlife on film for 25 years. Their work has appeared in other books and many magazines.